The Madras High Court.
Credit: PTI Photo
Chennai: Madras High Court on Wednesday summoned Tamil Nadu Home Secretary P Amudha, Director General of Police Shankar Jiwal, and top police officers in the contempt of court proceedings initiated by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for denying permission to its route marches.
RSS had filed five contempt proceedings against Amudha, Jiwal, and top police officials in several districts for not permitting its route marches on October 22 and October 29 despite the High Court directing the police to grant the nod. The Sangh had moved the court after police refused permission for holding route marches in over 50 locations across the state.
Justice G Jayachandran, who had allowed the route marches with reasonable restrictions, ordered “statutory notices” to the officials named in the contempt petitions. “All of them have to appear before the court within four weeks,” R Rabu Manohar of the RSS said after the verdict.
“On considering the facts of the case, the court is prima facie convinced that the respondents are either incapable of administering the state or had ignored the order of this court with scant respect to the judiciary,” the judge said, before ordering statutory notices issued to the respondents.
Additional Public Prosecutor R Muniyapparaj told the court that the state government’s appeal against the High Court is pending before the Supreme Court.
The RSS has planned to hold route marches in 53 locations in Tamil Nadu on October 22 and 29. After the police refused permission, the RSS had on October 23 sent contempt notices to the Home Secretary, Director General of Police, and Superintendents of Police in 22 districts where permission was denied for October 22.
The Madras High Court and its Madurai Bench had allowed the route marches in all but three districts. Last year too, the police denied permission for the route marches, but the RSS knocked at the doors of the court and ensured that the events were held.
The RSS has always found it tough to hold marches in Tamil Nadu with the then chief minister J Jayalalithaa refusing permission for years together. The marches resumed after her death in 2016 and were not held due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The march assumes significance in the wake of a massive political push by the BJP to make inroads into Tamil Nadu, where it still lacks a solid base.